The Witch and the Warden
by Inconcessus Diligo
Summary: When Lyna was saved from certain death at the hands of the Darkspawn by a mysterious mage, all she expected was to be healed and be on her way. However, what she got was something far worse that would push her abilities as a Grey Warden to their limits.
1. Chapter 1

**'Tis a rough life, playing the role of defender. There is always evil to be conquered in some form, even in the most holy of places, and it takes its toll on one's mind. When you have travelled alone for as long as I have, it is easy to start avoiding minor settlements or camps out of pure habit; a half-life spent tracking enemies and keeping out of sight can wreak most terrible havoc upon one's mind, and one will find oneself peering back, lest one be ambushed and killed. However, this is not the tale I weave for you today, oh no; today I weave the tale of the Witch and the Warden.**

The wild marshes of lands with names long tainted by evil can be a dangerous place, even for those trained to combat whatever may lay in wait beneath the mud and deceptively deep waters. Each step look Lyna several moments, as she wrestled her heavy plated boots free of the sticky, water-logged earth; each time she put her foot down, it would sink, deeper and deeper with each step, as if the very ground itself was alive and hungry for fresh meat. As she wedged herself over ankle-high in another stodgy pool of dirt, noises started to reverberate in the winds, nature carrying the warning of approaching creatures, soon their stench would also be delivered, and their fates sealed.

Lyna took a deep breath of the moist air through her nose, and spat it back out. Darkspawn. She reached for her bow, forgetting that she was rapidly sinking deeper into the mud. Instinctively, she tried to back-pedal to higher ground, but her foot jammed, and instead she was thrown to the ground, landing with a resounding squelch in the mud. The noise was clear now, and rhythmic. The low beat of a drum rang out through the marshes, and the heavy and sickening odour they carried threatened to cloud Lyna's mind and choke her with its foulness.

She clawed at her boots, desperately trying to break free of the earth. Anytime now they'd picked up her own scent, and would gain speed that nothing can outrun and live. She hastened and scooped great slabs on the mud out and flung it aside. The noise stopped, only the drum-beat remained. Faster she scooped, tugging one foot free, and a second… Howls and roars pierced the crisp morning air, she was too late. Great thuds of heavy boots soon filled the marsh, and Lyna finally pulled herself free, dashing as carefully as she could over a small rocky outcropping. She strung her bow and nocked an arrow, laying her quiver next to her for easier access. She would not go down without a fight.

Each breath reeked of the Darkspawn, they were seconds away from her position, and the noise they made was violent and deafening; it was no hard task to see why many of the bravest soldiers in the land still flee at the sight of a Darkspawn. She rested her bow in a small groove, and spied the closest warrior. It burst forth from a line of shrubs, seeing nought but an arrow flying at his head. Two more dashed out, each falling seconds later to precision head-shots. More came, and they fell before they could even see their enemy, but it was getting harder to kill them all quickly, and Lyna was running out of arrows.

At last, a leader figure showed itself. Unlike the others, he was adorned in dark golden armour, and was almost twice as big as those he commanded. Lyna reached for an arrow and discovered it was to be her last. She needed to make this count. She nocked the arrow, picked her target and let the arrow fly, straight between the eyes of the beast. Or so she thought, for the beast had not fallen. The arrow was bent and splintered in front of him, a thin bubble of energy crackling around the beast as his throaty laugh filled the silence in Lyna's mind.

The beast pointed a palm at Lyna's location, and she just managed to dive as a bolt of lightning struck the outcropping, blowing it apart in a cataclysmic explosion that tore the whole outcropping apart. Lyna had dodged the initial bolt, but she was thrown through the air by the blast, shards of rock scratching her armour as they flew past. She landed heavily, and felt something crack in her right arm, a noise that was succeeded by a lancing pain that indicated that her arm was at best heavily fractured.

Lyna was no healer, nor even a semi-adept mage; there was no conceivable way that she could fight in her current state. The bulk of the horde was behind their glorious golden leader, who lumbered up to where Lyna lay prone amidst a sea of rock shards, and luckily upon harder ground. The beast grinned, baring two rows of deathly sharp yellowing teeth,

"My brothers! We dine on fresh flesh tonight!" The beast shouted. Ever since the dreams she'd been getting after the joining, Lyna had become more skilled at the Darkspawn language, able to comprehend most sentences, and even string together a few minor ones of her own; not that diplomacy ever spared anyone who faced the Darkspawn.

The beast's statement gained roars and bellows from his horde that quickly died as their leader violently shuddered. The back of his armour dented and sundered, as if hit by an invisible weapon. Sparks flew as his magic shield tried to stop whatever was attacking him. He glared down at Lyna with fearsome, rage-filled eyes. He roared and his body exploded outwards, showering everything with gore. The horde of Darkspawn stilled and became cautious, their eyes peering through every crevice they could find. A flash appeared in the middle of the destroyed area that once housed the outcropping, and moments later a large area of the ground underneath the Darkspawn erupted in flames, incinerating those caught in it, and burning those that were too close.

The remnants of the horde charged forwards, forming an impenetrable wall that would catch anything, invisible or otherwise. Something shimmered in front of Lyna, and a section of the Darkspawn formation was flung high and far. The ground beneath another section was turned into creeping ice, which sent veins crawling up the beasts that stood in it, rendering them immobile and soon to be encased in an icy prison. The very earth beneath another section sundered and split, swallowing the beasts whole. The earth would get its meal after all. What remained of the Darkspawn turned tail and fled, but soon hit a wall of lightning much like the bubble their leader had created. A whole battle company had been dismantled within minutes by a single person, or a number of persons, or a whole army of persons, each one invisible.

"Show yourself… yourselves… your- Damnit just become visible!" Lyna barked, twisting her head around to see if anything had become visible.

"You are in no position to give orders." A sharp disembodied reply coursed through the air.

Lyna scanned around her for the source, but still it was not visible, "I am also in no position to fight or resist, what harm could there be?" She shouted back.

"There is no need to shout, I'm right here." Lyna turned her head and jumped as she was met by the head of a kneeling woman. Her hair was jet black and her eyes a cloudy grey. She wore a shade of purple eye-shadow above each eye, and bold black eyelashes sprouted from her eyelids. Her skin was pale, a great contrast to her rich purple lips, coloured similarly to her eye-shadow and the think cloth robe that hung from her shoulders, draping over a small part of her upper body; covering her breasts and part of her stomach, but little more. A vast array of jewellery adorned her neck, some even hanging from the small bra that enclosed her nipples, others taking the form of bangles around her wrists.

A long skirt wrapped around her petite waist, draping down over her legs and brushing against the floor. It seemed to be made of rags and scraps, and was clearly not the work of any fine tailor, nor was her thin cloth top. For someone of her power, the outfit seemed flimsy and cheap, not lavish and extravagant as Lyna had expected.

The woman blinked, staring deep into Lyna's eyes, as if searching for something, "Well? Is gawping all you can do? To think that minutes ago you were fighting for your life like a Grey Warden should be, and now I've managed to reduce you to a staring loony." She sighed heavily and stood up, "You are not the first, how should I put it… intellectually impaired Warden I've known, and I fear you shall not be the last; however I do prefer the company of people who are at least able to blink, and maybe string together a minor coherent sentence, so I must leave you now." The woman turned to leave.

"Wait." Lyna said.

The woman turned and raised an eyebrow, "Nearly there, aren't we? Just a few more words to go until you're a normal human being again!" She replied sarcastically.

"Just who are you? How did you know I was a Warden and why do you keep referencing others?" Lyna asked, ignoring the woman's sarcasm.

"There we go, I've done it! I've healed someone of their inability to communicate! Wonderful, aren't I? To reply to your questions, firstly, who I am is none of your concern; I am simply a passing mage who thought you could use some help. Secondly, I DO know you are a Warden, and you still are one as far as I can tell, I guess tenses are next on my list of things to teach you. Thirdly and finally, I reference others because I know of others; if I did not know of others I would not reference them, and references can help people to understand things better, a skill you look you could use." The woman stopped, her lips extending into a small grin as Lyna showed her frustration at the vague answers.

"Look, woman, I asked you three perfectly simple questions and I want answers, not riddles and sarcasm!" Lyna shouted, yet the woman did not flinch, nor even lower her grin; instead she burst out laughing, "What? What is so funny? Are you insane?"

The woman stopped laughing and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, "Ah, you're so cute when you attempt to take charge. Yet fine, if you want answers, I shall give you answers, but not right now. Your arm is broken and you're bleeding quite badly from those cuts, you'll soon get bruises of all colours and some of your wounds might have bits of stone inside them. I'll need to bring you back to my lodgings so that I can tend to them. I am no healer magically, but I can produce an effective salve or poultice from what the marsh provides me with." Lyna looked away, deep in thought, "It's now or never, make a decision."

"I'll go, but I can fight as effectively with my left hand once I'm on my feet." Lyna said, clambering up and wincing as every joint in her body protested.

"Haha, I shall try nothing funny, do not worry yourself; but must I really tell you that you swords means nothing to me when I can snap you like a twig with just a look?" The woman opened her eyes wide and Lyna tried to raise her right arm to protect herself, yelping as the pain lanced up her arm, and scolding herself for her pathetic attempt to protect herself against a joke.

"We shall see who is laughing after I recover." Lyna muttered, nursing her arm as she followed the woman away from the clearing, unaware that a greater danger lurked nearby.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The walk through the marshes with the mage had been a less than enjoyable experience for Lyna, with the mage taking every opportunity to poke fun at her or lay a fluent stream of sarcasm down upon her; though being the mage gave Lyna a strange reassurance. Once or twice she thought she'd seen something flitting around the edges of the muddy pools, yet with a simple comment and dismissive wave of her hand, the mage had set Lyna's mind at complete ease.

In the next clearing, Lyna collapsed heavily onto a nearby stone, her legs aching and her arm faring no better. Her armour was a constant burden, getting heavier and heavier with each step. She needed a rest,

"What are you doing?" The mage turned instinctively and faced the sitting warden, hands firmly on her hips and a stern look upon her face, as if she were a mother scolding her child.

"I am resting, it may have eluded your infinitely brilliant mind but I do wear a form of armour several times heavier than your own, carry a bow and a sword, sport a broken arm, a vast array of cuts and bruises and a headache that makes me feel like my brain is going to explode!" Lyna shouted, nestling her forehead in her left hand.

"Whilst I assume that you were merely being sarcastic, I do appreciate the compliment; my mind is rather brilliant, although not infinitely so." The mage calmly replied, "As for your weight issue… well, it was your choice to burden yourself as you have done, just as it is my choice to wear loose and light clothes, a measure of necessary protection is merely a measure of how skilled you are at what you do, and so your need for plate, chain and scale mails amongst other things only serves to remind you how terrible you are at what you do.

"Now come, we have not long to go and the sooner I may tend to your injuries, the sooner you can stop complaining and get out of my hair." The mage turned briskly and walked on. Lyna opened her mouth to speak, but felt her comments to be little more than excuses. The mage was right, she needed to get healed quickly; then she may show her how a true warrior fights.

As the pair trotted over one of the steepest hills yet, a small wooden shack came into view. The crooked windows were covered by flapping strands of cloth and other assorted fabrics, baskets of greens and plants from around the marshes were dotted around and a small, weathered grey stone well sat next to the shack. Oddly, nothing seemed to be showing any signs of moss, rotting or even insects. The plants and herbs were clean and fresh, the curtains still held strongly, despite their ragged appearance; and the wood which was no doubt years old, still looked as if it had been cut yesterday,

"Do you like it?" The mage asked, "It's not much, but it's my home, and it serves its purpose well enough."

"I do like it, it's rather… quaint." Lyna remarked as she followed the mage up the ever hardening path of ground towards the shack. As they closed in, all the fatigues of regular marshland were disappearing, as if new life was being birthed into the earth by the building. Meadow flowers grew in small patches around the area, with lush grass sprouting from around the well.

"Quaint? This old thing? Ha! It is a kind remark. It used to belong to my…" The mage trailed off, "Oh, well, she's not important; it's mine now and I've made a few select changes to it that seem to have had a knock-on effect on the surrounding land. Such is the way of magic I assume." She reached the door and pushed a finger upon the lock, releasing a sliver of blue energy into it.

"What was that?" Lyna asked as the mage pushed the door open.

"That was a little something of my own creation, making the building all but inaccessible to any but the most powerful of mages… or a being who just happens to be carrying around a good amount of lyrium." The mage smiled with pride and entered the shack, poking her head out of one of the windows seconds later, "Aren't you going to come in? It wasn't long ago that you complaining of having to stay on your feet." Lyna jogged quickly inside, her armour clinking as she moved; she just wanted to get this whole thing done with, yet part of her thought that there would be more to this than she'd expected.

The inside of the hut was not unlike the outside. Bare wooden walls made of crooked planks and little furniture saved for a table, some unstable-looking shelves and a three equally unstable-looking chairs. Two rooms joined to the first, sealed off by large strips of cloth that remained unmoving despite the breeze that whistled through the holes and cracks in the structure. The mage placed a hand around one of the strips and it shimmered, suddenly falling flaccid,

"Another of my own creations, and one that not many have sought to discover yet either." The mage entered the adjoining room and beckoned Lyna inside.

The room was full of pots and baskets, each housing many different species of flora and fungi. In the corner, the mage had several strips of cloth, a clay bowl of water, some plants and a bottle of blue substance Lyna identified as lyrium. Where the mage had found it was beyond her; after the lyrium famine directly succeeding the true defeat of the Blight, prices would have soared, and mages from all lands would have combed the areas,

"Remove your helm, some stone shards sundered the armour at the back." The mage said, not looking up from preparing the cloth. Lyna unclasped her helm with her left hand and held it before her. Sure enough, the armour was rent and torn, but she felt no pain from her head, "Do not reach around, I cast a spell upon you before the bolt struck, but you flew out of my sight before I could complete it, as such it only affected your head. You will feel no pain until the seal is broken either by touch or by magic, and trust me when I say you do not want to feel the pain."

The mage pulled the stopper out of the lyrium vial and tipped it slowly over the bowl of water, letting only a small amount of the blue substance pour out before she retracted it and replaced the stopper. She placed her hand upon the water-lyrium compound and chanted a small spell. The water shone and went an icy blue. The cloth was then placed in the bowl, followed by a few of the plants. Lyna watched in awe as the plants seemed to dissolve into the liquid, and was not surprised when the mage pulled the cloth out as quickly and carefully as possible.

"Whoa, you are not putting that on my head!" Lyna protested; the dissolving plants more than enough to convince her that the mage was clearly insane.

"Don't be such a girly girl, it won't bite! Is the big Warden scared that the ickle wickle imbued cloth will hurt her?" The mage mocked, "It's only lethal in large quantities, in smaller ones it has a reverse effect, much like how large bodies of water can dissolve salt, but when the water is evaporated the salt will re-appear. The cloth will cover the wounds and keep them from harm, and the water-lyrium compound it is imbued with will act as a catalyst, speeding up the healing." The mage approached Lyna, who took a small step back, hitting the wall behind her. She looked over to the door, but it was too far, and outrunning a mage of her power would be futile.

The mage reached her and she closed her eyes as the cloth was wrapped around her head. Sharp stabs of brief pain coursed over the back of her head, but quickly died away, her headache was also subsiding, "T-thank you, I guess…" Lyna said, reaching around and poking the cloth.

"Mmm…" The mage replied, going back to the bowl, "I made a mistake."

Lyna froze, horrified. Any second the bandage would erupt in flame, or explode, or dissolve her head, or something! She had to get it off but it was wrapped tightly, "What? What the fuck did you do? What have you done to me?" Lyna cried out.

"Silence, silly girl, there is nothing wrong with the formula or the cloth; it is perfect, I simply forgot about the side-effects of extended lyrium exposure. I'm afraid I'll have to use regular herbal salves on your other wounds, lest you gain an addiction or fall ill." The mage muttered, grabbing a pestle and mortar from beside her.

"Do not scare me like that! I almost had a heart-attack!" Lyna exclaimed, leaning against the wall. She was pleased to finally be able to see without the impairment of her visor, her vibrant green eyes glowed ever so slightly as they took in her surroundings. Strands of fiery red hair flowed down to her shoulders, pointed ears barely visible through the wall of red. Her skin bore a slight tan, and brought out her cherry-red lips, left dry from the lack of water on the journey to the shack after she'd lost her canteen; yet thirst was the least of her worries as long as she was in the company of the mage.

"These will take some time to prepare; it is best if you go and lie down and allow your body time to naturally heal some of the wounds. I will check on you every hour in order to assess your condition, and I'll apply some of the herbal remedies as necessary, so do not be alarmed if you awake and find me rubbing your leg or arm with a wet cloth, as it is not an attempt to seduce or take advantage of you. In fact, it may be of more help to assure you that I find you utterly repulsive." The mage smiled at Lyna as she wandered past, unlocking the other room, "Oh, and be careful with your right arm, it's your only one."

"Thanks, I'll bear that in mind." Lyna muttered as she walked through into the other room. It was cosier than she expected, with the cold marsh air replaced a warmer, perfumed one that seemed to induce sleepiness. The feel and smell was far from unpleasant, yet the mage did not come across the type who would wear such scents. The room itself was largely clear, with a few candles on the walls, a set of drawers in the corner with a golden, jewel-encrusted hand mirror on the top, and a small wooden bed with purple sheets and dark pillows.

Lyna stripped herself of her armour as carefully as she could, still managing to receive multiple protests from her right arm as she went. Her form was lithe and petite, a perfect representation of an elf in all aspects; as beautifully deadly in life as in lore. She arranged her armour beside the bed and slowly got inside it, the covers feeling a lot warmer than they appeared and hugging her shape. With the aid of the perfume, the warmth and relaxing comfort of the bed, she drifted off into her dreams.


End file.
